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Not sure if I would buy it again..

~ INFO & PRODUCT DETAILS.. ~

I really like using products from the "Sanctuary Spa Covent Garden" range and have tried out many of them in the past. I was delighted to be reintroduced to some trusted favourites alongside some new products from the range to try out, after my husband purchased a whole range of goodies from the Sanctuary Spa range for me at Christmas time. This review will focus on my experiences of using "The Sanctuary Spa 12 Hour Moisturising Shower Cream."

The Shower Cream is available to buy alongside a whole range of products in the Sanctuary Spa range, most of which you will find in larger branches of Boots, or alternatively, you can order the product online at www.boots.com, where postage costs apply. The price as @ January 2013 is £6.50 for the bottle, which is 250ml in size.

The packaging for the Shower Cream is quite simplistic, I must admit, but this offers a contemporary 'sleek' design that is quite modern and stylish, in my opinion. The cylindrical bottle is plain white in design, and there is an orange-coloured lid on top. Removing this reveals a sort of 'flip up' lid underneath through which you can dispense the creamy cleansing solution. The contrast of the bright orange colours offers a little eye-catching detail that creates a rather sophisticated image of the product overall, in my opinion.

The Sanctuary Spa company is against animal testing of any kind.

~ MY EXPERIENCE.. ~

I do tend to have more baths than I do showers, and so for this reason I do like my shower products to be adaptable enough to cope with use via this method. So, for the first few times I tried out the Moisturising Shower Cream, I poured a little of the white, creamy liquid under the running tap whilst the bath was filling. This created very little impact on the bathwater, with really only a slight 'milky' appearance taking place within the water's depths. Indeed, there was very little in the way of a foamy lather produced and so I found it necessary to use a little of the creamy product dispensed directly onto a wet flannel in order to cleanse myself. Based on these experiences, using the Shower Cream product by adding it to the bathwater felt like something of a waste so I opted to use the rest of the bottle applied directly to the skin instead.

*(A small word of warning here - I found the Shower Cream made the surface of the bath feel really rather slippy when I was soaking in the solution, so I would exercise a little caution in entering and exiting the bathtub, particularly if you suffer with mobility problems as I do.)*

The liquid Shower Cream is a white colour and is surprisingly runny in its texture, being much thinner than your average body lotion product. This is an observation on my part, rather than being something of a criticism, and I didn't necessarily find that the product created a lot of mess during use.

The Shower Cream felt really rather luxurious when applied to my dry, tired skin. I found too that a very gentle lather was created when the cream met with my bath scrunchie and this felt extremely soft and gentle - a blessing really, considering the sensitivity from which my delicate skin suffers. That is not to say that a huge abundance of generously foamy bubbles was created with this particular product, far from it in fact, but the cream felt extremely soft and, of course, creamy as it was smoothed over my skin. I found the texture of the cream too felt surprisingly light and as it's 'body' is purely that of a cream, I found this worked in harmony with my sensitive skin, providing a wonderfully 'nourishing' feeling that is distinctly lacking in many of the bath and shower products that I have used before. This nourishing feeling is extremely welcome as far as I am concerned, as my skin suffers dreadfully as a result of dryness and sensitivity. The Sanctuary Spa Moisturising Shower Cream really feels as if it is cleansing the skin thoroughly during use, without 'stripping' anything from the skin's protective layers in the way that some products do.

Another plus point for me was the fact that I found a very small amount of the product is all that was really required in order to cleanse myself thoroughly. Really a large 'blob' the size of a 50p piece or so lathered gently into a small gathering of foamy lather that was rich enough in its texture and scent to feel adequate for my own needs. This will vary from person to person of course, but I did feel that this was one product where a little really went a long way, and I did feel that the higher-than-average price tag felt more justified, as a result of these findings.

The Shower Cream's gorgeous aroma is evident almost as soon as the creamy liquid is dispensed from the bottle, being extremely rich, yet surprisingly light. Without feeling 'heady' or over-bearing, there is a strong spice within the overall aroma that carries itself delicately over the skin. This gives a lovely warm 'glow' type feeling whilst the product is being used, and this really combines nicely with the feel and texture of the Shower Cream to provide a nourishing feeling making my dry, thirsty skin feel rather more 'quenched'. I find too that the warming feeling obtained from the product's scent allows it to feel perfectly suited to the cold, winter mornings we have been experiencing lately, although not exclusively, and so this is, for me, a definite plus point in terms of the versatility of the product. The warming feeling experienced during use of the product has allowed it to feel wonderfully uplifting, and this has most certainly been welcome during the cold, dark winter days recently.

There is a gentle 'air' of the scent present on the skin after use too, and I find this lasts for a reasonable time afterwards, whispering its presence to me gently for several hours following application. This is something else that is very welcome by me, as I am eager to experience the beautiful, warming aroma for as long as possible. A further plus point for me too is the fact that I can really make the product's gorgeous aroma come into 'full bloom' by using co-ordinating products from elsewhere in the Sanctuary Spa range. Using, for example, the matching Body Lotion or Body Butter after cleansing with the Shower Cream really allows the rich scent to feel 'denser' and become more prolonged on the skin's surface. This is a very welcome discovery as far as I am concerned, and so I have embraced this practice as much as possible, to allow the scent to develop further on my skin and envelop me in its amber-like cloud for several hours after bath time. In my experience, this result is really only easy to achieve in products that are of a fairly high quality, with cheaply-branded products not performing at all well in this regard, as you would perhaps expect. There is no doubt in my mind that the Sanctuary Spa 12 Hour Moisturising Shower Cream is a rather 'premium' product of optimum quality.

The claim made by this particular product is that it is "A one-step shower cream" that is "As effective as a moisturiser, lasting for up to 12 hours."

Based on my own findings, I'm afraid that I have to disagree with these claims to a degree, as I noticed no great difference in terms of my skin needing further moisturisation following my usual bath time/showering routine. To be fair, I did feel that the product felt quite 'softening' as I explained previously, and this allowed for a less 'harsh' feeling to be experienced on my dry skin than usual. After use however, I did feel it was necessary to apply a Body Butter or Body Moisturiser product and the familiar 'tightening' of my skin around the upper arm area was still present, which is a sure-fire indicator to me that my dry skin is playing up. To clarify, I didn't feel that the product did anything to aggravate the sensitive skin at this area, I merely felt that it did not offer sufficient moisturisation to the area to enable me to skip the 'moisturising' part of my skincare routine. For the reason that the product did not live up to its claim in this regard, I am deducting one point from the product rating score.

So, plus points of the product are that it feels quite 'nourishing' to use on dry skin, and I also felt the beautiful fragrance of the product was perfect for me. I liked too that the strong scent didn't aggravate or irritate my sensitive skin.

As far as this product goes, however, I have to admit that I would not seek it out to purchase it again. There is nothing really negative to report, in terms of the product's 'cleansing' performance or it's lovely aroma, but I admit that I have found that using the product really adds very little to my bath time or shower routine, as it feels rather more 'plain' than many of the other beautiful products that are available elsewhere in the Sanctuary Spa range. It's nice enough, but I can't see me forking out the full price for it again in the future. I also felt slightly let down that the "12 Hour Moisturisation" claim made by the product was nowhere to be found.

For the reasons outlined in this review, I feel the Sanctuary Spa Shower Cream is deserving of four marks in the product rating score, and I can't say that I would seek it out to purchase it again in the future. There are much, much nicer products available to buy from elsewhere in the same range.

Comments

Product Details

A deeply cleansing cream so rich it hydrates skin all day without needing an extra moisturiser / Perfect for getting ready in a rush, this one-step shower cream is as effective as a moisturiser, lasting for up to 12 hours / A sensuous lather cleanses, while a rich blend of nourishing shea butter, softening sunflower oil and protective vitamin E leaves your skin beautifully soft and supple